Controversial issues

Question

Hi I hope you can help I am writing an essay about sensitive topics in the school curriculum particularly in science and I really can't find any research or journals which discuss the topic am look for information about teaching evolution to religous children and about smoking when a lot of pupils will have family who smoke or have died from the associated diseases.

ThanksI will be grateful for any help you can give me I am really stuck.

Response

That is an interesting subject for your essay. You haven't specified if this is primary or secondary level so how you approach sensitive topics would depend on this of course.

We have actually had a question about teaching science to pupils from different religions and cultures - see link below. I've included some more updated references from the education indexes relating to science and religion and also health education relating to smoking.Also, the resources we have on the TTRB relating to teaching controversial issues should be useful in your research? See links below. Much of the guidance could be applied to a range of teaching scenarios and subject areas.

The Teachers TV videos could be particularly useful so try a search of the site with keywords: controversial issues or health education or PSHE to see what is available.

As well as a sample of references to articles on this topic area I include some of the keywords I used so you can continue your search. Your university library should have some of the journals in stock or available electronically and I think it does subscribe to the education indexes (BEI, ERIC and AUEI) via Dialog Datastar so you can continue searching. I hope this helps.

Tobacco Education in the Primary School: Paradoxes for the Teacher. Health Education Journal, 2006, vol. 65, no. 1, p. 5-13, pp. 9, 22 refs., ISSN: 0017-8969. Spratt-Jennifer, Shucksmith-Janet. "Objective: The overall aim of the research was to investigate the approaches taken to tobacco education by primary school teachers. Setting: Research was conducted in four diverse areas of Scotland. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with primary 6 and primary 7 teachers. Questions explored the classroom issues perceived by teachers when delivering tobacco education and focused particularly on teachers' responses to pupils from smoking households. Results: Smoking was presented as a matter of personal choice, with teachers claiming impartiality, but this created a paradox as they attempted to deliver a strong anti-smoking message. Commonly, teachers held outdated views of peer pressure as a coercive force, and strove to develop strategies to withstand or avoid such situations. Few understood the active choices that young people make within their social context. A number of problems were identified in delivering tobacco education to children of smoking parents, which often resulted in these children being subject to a diluted health message. A minority of schools took a more proactive approach which is examined here. Conclusion: Health educators should work with schools to develop teaching methods and materials which realistically appraise the choices young people face. More "honest" approaches which acknowledge the pleasure, need and social significance of smoking would better equip pupils to examine the issues, and would have more relevance for pupils whose parents and siblings smoked."

Commitment and Compatibility: Teachers' Perspectives on the Implementation of an Effective School-Based, Peer-Led Smoking Intervention. Health Education Journal, 2008, vol. 67, no. 2, p. 74-90, pp. 17, 31 refs., ISSN: 0017-8969. Audrey-Suzanne, Holliday-Jo, Campbell-Rona."Objective: Although current UK policy argues that schools have a key role in raising health standards, emphasis on the core curriculum restricts teachers' opportunities to undertake health promotion activities. The challenge is to design effective health promotion interventions that minimize pressures on teaching staff and curriculum space. Here we consider teachers' perspectives of an effective peer-led, school-based smoking intervention, implemented by external trainers. Design: The intervention, during which influential Year 8 students identified through a whole-year peer nomination process were trained to reduce smoking uptake through informal interactions with students in their year group, was evaluated by a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (ASSIST: A Stop Smoking In Schools Trial). An integral process evaluation examined the context, implementation and receipt of the intervention. Setting: Thirty secondary schools in south-east Wales and the west of England. Methods: Teachers in all intervention schools completed questionnaires at key stages of the intervention. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken in four schools at baseline and immediately post-intervention. The method of constant comparison, derived from grounded theory, was used throughout the analysis. Results: The intervention was successfully implemented in a wide range of schools; recruitment and retention rates were good; and outcome data showed a reduction in smoking levels. Some teachers expressed concern about the participation of challenging students, external trainers setting standards of discipline, and communication over timetabling. Conclusion: Overall, teachers showed commitment to the ASSIST intervention and felt it was compatible with the Year 8 curriculum. If implemented more widely, the importance of peer nomination should be stressed. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)"

BEI Keywords

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